Preparing to Learn Pottery from a Master

Based on my experience learning from Korean pottery master Lee Hyang-gu.

I completed an intensive training course with Master Lee Hyang-gu at Nam yang Studio in Icheon, South Korea. The studio is on Instagram as @thepotterynine, and Instagram DMs are also how you can contact them for course dates and pricing.

I extended my course twice and ended up becoming Master Lee's longest-term international student. Safe to say, I loved the experience and couldn't recommend it more.

I spent around 70 days learning from him, meeting many students as they arrived and left while I remained at the studio. A small side note, this level of intensity wasn't particularly kind to my body, and I definitely paid the price physically afterwards. Most international students tend to stay for one week, two weeks or a month.

Since returning home, I've had quite a few future students reach out asking how they should prepare. These are simply my honest thoughts based on my own experience, and from meeting many students learning from Master Lee and other Korean masters during my travels.

Be prepared to learn a completely different method

Master Lee teaches traditional Korean throwing techniques, which can feel very different from the Western techniques many potters are used to.

For example, right-handed potters learning in many Western studios often throw counterclockwise. That's how I originally learnt in Spain. Master Lee throws clockwise.

After my first week, when I decided to extend my course, I changed the direction of my wheel so I could follow his hand movements more precisely. It took me a few days to adjust.

I saw other students change direction too, and the adjustment period was different for everyone. Potters who had been throwing counterclockwise for five years or more often found the adjustment much harder, and many chose to continue throwing counterclockwise. That makes complete sense. Retraining habits you've built over years isn't easy.

I personally never looked back and still throw clockwise today.

Because Master Lee and I communicated through limited English, Korean phrases, translation apps and an in-person translator when one was available, mirroring his exact movements made his teaching much easier for me to understand.

Throwing clockwise also means I drill down and shape with my right hand on the inside, which is my dominant hand. Personally, that feels much more intuitive, especially when throwing larger moon jars and vessels. I feel far more control shaping with my right hand than I ever did trying to shape with my less dominant left hand.

Do you need to practise before you arrive?

Honestly, I sometimes noticed that students with less throwing experience picked up the new techniques more quickly.

Sorry to any experienced Western throwers reading this.

That doesn't mean you can't learn the method. It simply means there may be a slightly bigger adjustment period if your hands have been moving a certain way for many years.

Korean and Western throwing techniques can be very different. If you've spent years developing one method, it's only natural that learning another takes time.

My biggest piece of advice?

Arrive with an open mind.

Be prepared to be humbled more than you expect.

Your ego has no place in Nam yang Studio or around Master Lee.

The experience may genuinely make you question your throwing ability, and I actually think that's a very normal part of learning.

If you want to prepare beforehand, you could always try throwing clockwise before you arrive, particularly if you'd like to mirror Master Lee's movements exactly.

That being said, I saw many students continue throwing counterclockwise while learning his method and still make beautiful pots.

There isn't a right or wrong answer.

Personally, I don't think you need to do a huge amount of technical preparation before arriving. I'd focus far more on arriving rested, open-minded and ready to absorb everything you possibly can.

While you're learning

These thoughts are based specifically on my experience with Master Lee, although I imagine much of this could apply when learning from any highly experienced artist or master.

Again, these are simply my own thoughts.

Being taught by a master doesn't automatically give you their skill

I say this with kindness.

Simply being around a master and receiving their instruction doesn't mean you'll leave with the same level of ability.

A master can guide you, demonstrate techniques and show you what to look for.

But you still have to practise and really think about what you are doing. A lot.

You have to work out what those movements feel like in your hands.

You have to think about why something worked.

Why something didn't.

Troubleshoot.

Adjust.

Try again.

There will be plenty of failures in between.

That's a huge part of the process.

Unless you're incredibly skilled and adapt instantly... in which case, fair play.

Learning a completely different method isn't a quick switch.

I watched potters of every experience level become humbled by the process.

There wasn't a single day where I didn't feel humbled myself.

You can't learn everything

One thing I realised quite quickly is that you simply can't learn everything in a short course.

I met students who wanted to learn every form Master Lee teaches, sometimes within just a few days. I think that's a very natural response. When you're learning from a master, you naturally want to absorb as much knowledge as possible while you're there.

The reality, though, is that you can't learn decades of experience in a matter of days, weeks or even a couple of months.

I spent almost my entire time focusing on the moon jar.

Would it have been exciting to leave saying I'd learnt ten different forms?

Of course.

But I'd much rather understand one form deeply than ten forms only superficially.

Master Lee often reinforces that the moon jar teaches the fundamentals. Without understanding those fundamentals properly, there's little point rushing into more complex forms.

Looking back, I completely agree.

Learning the moon jar taught me so much about proportion, balance, pressure, movement and understanding clay that I now feel much more confident approaching other forms.

Master Lee did teach me many other forms during my stay, but I always came back to the moon jar because I knew refining those fundamentals would benefit everything else I make in the future.

Buy the books

Master Lee has two books available to purchase at the studio.

I bought both.

I'd read them in the morning before class and again at night.

They're written in Korean, so I'd photograph the pages, translate them and then get ChatGPT to read them back to me.

It sounds a little chaotic, but it genuinely helped me understand his thinking and revisit lessons outside the studio.

Be kind to yourself

It's hard.

Even when a master makes it look effortless.

Master Lee has his iconic catchphrase, "So easy!", which always made everyone laugh because... well... it definitely isn't.

It takes years of practice to make something that difficult look that easy.

Remember that Master Lee has been making pottery since he was 17 years old.

Masters have decades of experience behind movements that now feel completely natural to them.

You're learning a new skill.

Building that skill takes time.

It takes repetition. It takes patience.

You'll probably make pots you dislike. You'll probably have days where nothing seems to work.

You may even feel like you're getting worse before you get better.

Keep going.

That's normal.

Final thoughts

Learning from Master Lee was one of the most rewarding experiences of my ceramic journey.

It challenged me technically, mentally and physically, but it also completely changed the way I understand clay and approach the wheel.

I left a better potter than when I arrived, but more importantly, I left with a completely different way of thinking about making.

Whether you're planning to study with Master Lee Hyang-gu or another master, my biggest advice is simple.

Arrive curious.

Arrive humble.

Be ready to work.

And enjoy every second of it.

It's an incredible experience 🤍